Going back to basics has fashion store trending up

Dec. 27, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Sandy Stoner, owner of the Black Dahlia store in San Clemente, carries women's new and gently used clothing and says she'll soon branch out to men's clothing like dressy surf shirts. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Black Dahlia owner Sandy Stoner hangs out with Dave, her English bulldog, in front of her women's clothing store at 100 W. Mariposa in San Clemente. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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These gently used women's designer jeans sell for $30 to $40 at Sandy Stoner's store, Black Dahlia - much less than the original $200. Brands include True Religion, Lucky and others. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Blouses, sweaters and other tops start as low as $6 at Black Dahlia in San Clemente. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Sandy Stoner says costume jewelry has been big this fall. Her store, Black Dahlia, carries a wide assortment of mostly exchanged items. Bracelets, rings, necklaces, earrings and pendants start at about $7. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Sandy Stoner took over her mom's San Clemente clothing store and renamed it Black Dahlia to recall an era, the 1940s, when even going to the market was often considered a reason to get dressed up. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Sweaters like this one go for about $20 at the Black Dahlia. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Sandy Stoner's English bulldog, Dave, is a mainstay at her store, Black Dahlia on West Mariposa on San Clemente. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Sandy Stoner keeps an eye out for unique vintage styles for women, like this fur stoll that she sells for $45. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Flashy shoes like these ladies' slippers sell for $40 at Black Dahlia. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Designer purses like this one range from $14 to $45 at Black Dahlia in San Clemente. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Black Dahlia owner Sandy Stoner travels to Los Angeles about once a week to find deals and specials on women's fashions. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Costume jewelry like this glass pendant is marked down to about $24 at Black Dahlia from about $100. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

Sandy Stoner, owner of the Black Dahlia store in San Clemente, carries women's new and gently used clothing and says she'll soon branch out to men's clothing like dressy surf shirts. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

3 questions with Sandy Stoner

Q. What are the top three things you consider when buying clothes for your store?

Sandy Stonerâ€™s fashion picks

"Teen girls are interested in Converse and Vans shoes with cute blouses, girly and feminine blouses and then skinny jeans."

FOR THIRTYSOMETHINGS:

"I think they are going more feminine. They are still wearing skinny jeans and chiffon tops, and the boy jeans are coming back. Now it's boots for winter too.

"For going out at night, it's the tight little party dress."

FOR OLDER WOMEN:

"What they have always looked for – nice button-up blouses. They are still wearing jeans, but not the skinny jeans, just nice jeans. And, of course, since it's winter, they are looking for boots and coats.

"Accessories and accessorizing is a big deal right now, so earrings, scarves and necklaces – they want the bling."

FOR NEXT SPRING:

"San Clemente is a little more casual, so summer dresses, shorts, tank tops as regular everyday wear. Tank tops will sell all day long."

Sandy Stoner had a vision when she took over her mother's women's clothing store two years ago. She gave it a new name, Black Dahlia, and aggressively set out to stock the San Clemente shop with all the new and trendy brands.

Then ... nothing happened. Turned out she had the wrong vision.

"I thought I was really going to change everything from what my mom had, with everything new," said Stoner, a San Clemente resident. "She had the store for years and really knew what her customers wanted, and now I am getting back to that.

"I learned the hard way who my customers are and what they are looking for, which is the best price."

Stoner said that when she began to focus on newer brand-name items, her costs went up and sales went down. She lost a lot of business when she priced many locals out of the store.

LESSON LEARNED

The shop, at 100 W. Mariposa, is one block off North El Camino Real and several blocks north of Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente's main shopping drag. So it relies heavily on customers from its neighborhood. Stoner estimates about 60 percent of her clients come from the local community, including apartments and houses only yards away across an alley. The rest of her clients are about evenly split between regulars from out of the area and people just passing through.

"My mom had it so right, with the perfect mix of old and new that people could afford," Stoner said of her mother, Pamela Lee, who ran the store as Pamela Lee's Boutique before moving on to other pursuits after 15-plus years.

Now, Stoner is stocking fewer and lower-cost new items. She depends on client exchanges, along with buying forays into Los Angeles, to bring in higher-quality, better-known and usually pricier brands of jeans, blouses, sweaters and other tops.

BUILDING CONNECTIONS

She says it's all about knowing where to go and whom to see. "It's taken me years to find the best places," Stoner said. "There is a whole method to getting the best deals. It's all underground."

Customers can get a deal at her store that they can't just find anywhere, Stoner said. For example, she said, a gently used pair of Italian leather boots might sell new for about $300. At the Black Dahlia, the pair goes for about $100.

The new approach is working, and it's not a struggle to stay open anymore, she said.

"I am looking at all the people who walk by – there is a barbershop next door, a surf shop on the corner, the martial-arts place across the street, there's a breakfast place over there too, and the CVS right across the street," Stoner said. "I get a lot of people coming through that never knew I was here. They are waiting for a prescription at CVS or on their way to the barbershop."

With so much male traffic coming and going from Jerry's Barbershop next door, Stoner plans to carry dressy surf shirts for men.

LITTLE HELP FROM A FRIEND

Dave, the English bulldog Stoner takes to work with her most days, doesn't hurt business either – he makes friends with everyone, she said.

"Dave is better known around here than I am," Stoner said. "When he's out front, people drive by and honk and call out, 'Hey, Dave!'"

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